Visitors to Osijek can now also enjoy two new tourist info-centres: one in the upper town and one in well preserved Osijek fortress Tvrda, built in the 18th century. In addition to information and promotional materials and a range of original souvenirs, Tvrda boasts a new info-spot run by the Osijek tourist guide association, offering visitors guided tours and one of the eight free wireless internet hotspots in Osijek.

The city’s fast lifestyle can also be seen from the number of visitors to Osijek Zoo on the left bank of the River Drava, the numerous visitors to the nearby nature reserve Kopacki Rit and events that have been announced for the upcoming season.

In July Osijek will host the 32nd annual European Archery Championships, with over 2,000 competitors and guests. In August, a children’s festival will be held, gathering around 2,000 children of all ages from several countries. This year, Osijek will also be visited by a group of around 200 bikers, guests of great interest who traditionally seek high-quality hotel accommodation and secure shelter for their motorbikes.

All first-time visitors to Osijek, a city that can be reached from Zagreb in two hours on the motorway, will be delighted by the promenade on the River Drava, a beautiful river-promenade in the country. Much to
the delight of Osijek’s natives and visitors, the Great dance orchestra has recentlybegun playing for festive occasions, greatly contributing to the atmosphere of the city.

More info about Osijek at Osijek-Baranja County Tourist Board : www.tzosbarzup.hr +  Osijek Tourist Board: www.tzosijek.hr

There will be two weekly flights on Thursdays and Sundays.

The prices are starting  from 19 Euros for one-way flight.

The intention of Ryanair is to service the Frankfurt to Osijek route during the summer months only, but there is a possibility of extending the flights throughout the year.

Read more about Flights to Croatia

Germanwings , the low cost airline from Germany, has introduced flights from Cologne (Koln), Germany to Osijek- the capital of Slavonia.

The first flight from Cologne (Koln) in Germany to Osijek Airport (OSI) started on 14th of March.

The flights, advertised as 19 Euro one way, are scheduled twice a week – on Thursdays and Sundays.

The Osijek Airport, due to the devastation caused by the recent war, was not completely operable, but new international lines would soon be introduced, one of it including Stuttgart, Germany.

The cooperation with the Russian company “Aerflot Cargo” is planned to start by the end of this or beginning of next month. 

More info on flights to Croatia

The flattering award, which has been presented for 30 years, was presented by the international tourist organization Trade Leaders Club, whose members and awarding committee are former winners of the award.

For over 20 years, the owner of Hotel Waldinger, Berislav Mlinarevic, has set new benchmarks in Osijek’s hospitality offer with his hospitality company Romos Comerce, and this award is a formal acknowledgement of his work.

About Hotel :
Hotel Waldinger is located in the very centre of Osijek, just off the main city square and the famous Osijek Promenade that lays along the bank of river Drava.
It is decorated in the secession style, and the interior consists of a combination of traditional and modern equipment. The quality of the rooms, a diverse offer and a high-level service were certainly among the reasons for the award.
The large multipurpose hall on the first floor, seating 100 people, is extensively equipped and suitable for banquets, seminars, receptions, promotions and other formal occasions, and the small hall seating 20 people is ideal for business meetings. The hotel also has a gym and a sauna.
It has 15 rooms, a suite, and a 3-star annex with 7 accommodation units.
The hotel particularly focuses on food preparation, treatment and combination of ingredients, decoration and serving, staff, and the overall attitude toward the guests. The hotel produces it own food and pastries, and a restaurant by the name of Klub Waldinger is available within the hotel. The chef constantly introduces novelties in line with the gastro trends, while a first-class sommelier from Argentina tends to 116 different wines. The hotel is also a true gallery with around 80 original paintings of Osijek’s academic painters, and the layout is changed on a monthly basis. Hotel Waldinger, Osijek info and booking

The old farm, situated around 20 kilometers from Osijek en route to Novi Ceminac, has been restored to its original condition, and the double and triple bedrooms on it are equipped with furniture exuding the Slavonian ambience.

In addition to accommodation, they started a horseback riding school managed by a person licensed by the Croatian Equestrian Federation and the Croatian Olympic Committee. Each attendant has the opportunity to ride through intact nature with an experienced horseback riding instructor.

Baranja is a region known for its hunting grounds, so the Ipša family intends to supplement their offer in agreement with hunting concessionaires and use horses for hunting. While visiting hunting grounds or forests, tourists could enjoy the immediate presence of game.

Baranja has an increasing  number of people who have recognized the tourist potential of the area that will satisfy even the most demanding visitors. Pleasant and comfortable accommodation and gastronomic delights the locals offer their guests, hunting and fishing, Kopacki Rit Nature Park, hansom carriage or off-road vehicle rides, rest & recreation and swimming in Danube are just a small part of what this area has to offer.

Osijek-Baranja County Tourist Board www.tzosbarzup.hr

The reconstruction, widening and adaptation of the old structure in the fortalice near the Osijek zoo was launched three years ago with Unikom, the municipal utility company, and the City of Osijek, appearing as investors, and the new ZOO-hotel was opened in late November 2007.

Over ten million kuna has been invested into the project to date, and as much remains to be spent. In selecting and installing the material, equipping and outfitting the interior, the Unikom management was led by the aim that the hotel receive a four-star rating.

With the aim of expanding and upgrading the existing hotel offer, as future projects, the investors have announced they will build an indoor swimming pool and a wellness facility. Also in the works is the expansion of the building with a further six storeys that should increase the number of rooms from the current nineteen to forty or fifty.

The spring will see the launch of work on another parking lot with 220 parking spaces, and 2008 should also see the development of the left bank of the Drava River where there is a plan to build a golf course, a dog hotel in the frame of hunting tourism, two tennis courts and one artificial turf 5-a-side soccer pitch.

Along with the hunting offer, Osijek intend to expand the sports & recreation offer to fishing and to purchase a boat on which children would be educated on environmental preservation.

A village courtyard is to be developed, a veterinary service needed for the zoo and an education area for the youngest visitors of the zoo, for whom a small train would be set up in which to tour the zoo.

More info : http://www.zoo-hotel.com/ 

Germanwings , the low cost airline from Germany, is introducing flights from Cologne (Koln) in Germany to Osijek - the economic and cultural centre of Slavonia.

The first flight from Cologne (Koln) in Germany to Osijek Airport (OSI) ( http://www.osijek-airport.hr/) will start on 14th of March 2008.

The flights are scheduled twice a week – on Thursdays and Sundays.

Osijek – Cologne flights are advertised as 19 Euro one way.

Due to good location of Osijek and its airport, and its vicinity of Hungary, Serbia and Bosnia, it is expected these flights are going to be pretty popular.

However, if you hurry up with booking, there are some pretty good prices available at the moment – check Germanwings booking pages: http://www.germanwings.com/skysales/Search.aspx?culture=en-GB

The first one is route Gaženica – hub Zadar 2 that opened for traffic by Croatian Minister Božidar Kalmeta. He opened the new four-line route Gaženica – hub Zadar 2,  positioned at the motorway Zagreb – Šestanovac, 17.5 km long. In front of the hub Zadar 2, the minister told the journalists that this represented one of the most important infrastructural objects in the Zadar county and an important starter for the development of the whole region. Kalmeta also mentioned the importance of the future port Gaženica, which will receive 220 million kunas of state funding, offering also a great opportunity for the progress of the whole area.

The second route is A5 Djakovo-Sredanci Section of Motorway that was opened for traffic by Croatian Prime Minister, Ivo Sanader, who has opened the first section of the A5 motorway between Beli Manastir, Osijek and Svilaj, between Sredanci and Djakovo. Some 1.4 billion kuna was invested into 23 kilometres of road which will in the end measure nearly 89 kilometres and pass between Hungarian and Bosnia-Herzegovina borders, becoming a part of the 5C corridor between Budapest, Osijek, Sarajevo and Ploce.

The development of tourism in the city has long ago imposed itself as a logical orientation considering Osijek’s many attractive cultural and historical attractions, its rich history, fascinating tradition, which offers visitors plenty of entertainment. The offer of accommodation is improving from year to year too.

In the vicinity of Osijek’s Upper Town a new hotel opened its doors – the hotel Drava. This small family hotel with 11 rooms, a restaurant and café bar, is rated as three-star hotel.

With this new facility Osijek now offers a total of eight hotels, four of which are high category facilities, two motels and a large number of private apartments as well as rural cottages in the near vicinity of the town.

The most attractive location in Osijek is the Baroque period fortress locally called Tvrda, which is one of the most attractive buildings in all of Slavonia. Everyone who finds themselves in Osijek should not miss a tour of the main town square and the well-known Osijek promenade along the Drava River, the municipal gardens in Osijek, protected as horticultural monument, and the numerous municipal museums and theatres.

Alos, the Europe’s oldest tram is in operation in this city, adapted for tourist tours of the most attractive points of interest in the city.

One of the great advantages of the city is its rich surroundings where visitors  are offered various sightings – from hunting and fishing, excursions to Kopacki rit Nature Park and visits to rural villages in the vicinity..

Their latest plans are to construct a camping ground in Osijek – the capital of Slavonia .

This is really welcoming news about additional camping facilities in Croatia, especially for continental part of the country where camping grounds are scarce commodity.

The location of the new Osijek campsite will be at left bank of River Drava behind so called Osijek’s “Katakombe”.

This attractive site at the very shore of Drava River  has been previously used on couple of occasions as camping site – during last year’s fishing competition, as well as during the last year’s Urban Fest music festival .

In cooperation with some other local and regional institution, Osijek Tourist Board is expecting to invest about 1 million Kuna in basic infrastructure and camping facilities at the site.

They believe the new campsite in Osijek will be fully functional by the end of this year.